Movable barrier operator systems of various kinds are known in the art. Some systems provide automated (and/or remote) control with respect to movement of a movable barrier (such as, but not limited to, a single-piece or segmented garage door, a sliding or pivoting gate, a pivoting guard arm, rolling shutters, and the like). Such control systems generally serve to provide some point of control with respect to a mechanism that itself governs, in some fashion, access to some further destination (such as, but not limited to, a garage or other parking area, a business area, a recreation or exercise area, and so forth).
Such systems often include a movable barrier operator that facilitates such control. In addition, in many cases, such systems also include one or more remote peripheral devices. Examples include, but are not limited to, wall-mounted remote actuation switches, so-called keyless entry interfaces, biometric entry interfaces, one or more obstacle detectors (including, but not limited to, contact based as well as light beam based detectors), auxiliary lighting, and so forth. In most cases, such remote peripheral devices either have an internal discrete portable power source (such as one or more batteries) and/or are dependent upon an external source of power.
In the case of the latter, such remote peripheral devices are usually coupled to the aforementioned movable barrier operator (via, for example, electrical conductors such as wire or cable). In this case, in many instances, these electrical conductors also serve to convey information between such components. To illustrate, a pair of conductive wires often serve to both provide power from a movable barrier operator to an obstacle detector and to serve as a bearer medium by which the obstacle detector can provide obstacle detection information to the movable barrier operator.
Such an approach serves well for many application purposes. There are instances and application settings, however, when such an approach leaves something to be desired. In some cases, providing such electrical conductors can comprise a time-consuming task and/or may present esthetic concerns regarding appearance of the installed system.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.